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Memory of the Burning Years
“'La Fédération demande le territoire d’Alsace Lorraine et de Nancy. Il sera retourné, ou il y aura la guerre'” – The ultimatum delivered to Berlin via telegraph on September 1st , 1939 The Kaiserreich had not yet recovered from the wreckages of Black Monday; its allies still weak from the ripples of the economic crash. Despite the weak currency, trembling industrial base and failure of the financial system entirely, Wilhelm II managed to silence the Reichstag and relieved all politicians of their offices – later replying to the ultimatum with a single word. Though few heard his lips tremble such a mutter, the entire world knew what he had murmured. His boisterous reply was that of a man of honour; refusing to simply hand over land that almost two million died for. However, his glossy eyes and despondent posture spoke only of misery and doom. Without a strong economy and united parliament, he knew this war would not only be the end of the Hohenzollerns – but the end of the German Empire’s place in the sun. Marcel Déat, General Secretary of the CGT and de facto head of state, delivered a fiery speech the following day in Nantes to an eager and excited crowd. He vowed to dethrone the bourgeois from their thrones of abuse and greed. He encouraged all men to join the armed forces and all women to take up work in the factories, making arms and munitions so that “The Red Tide never loses ground”. He also encouraged that the “oppressed and damned rise up, and shatter their chains” across all of Europe, gaining significant traction from syndicates in Brussels, Hamburg and Vienna. Garrison units were rushed to the western and southern coasts, and the Red Army was entrenched at the German border, ready to repel any attack thrown at them. This was the hour that France would reclaim her legacy from not only destroying the German hegemon, but by freeing the slaves of the capitalist oppressors. Déat had effectively reorganised the decentralised and weak Commune of France from its 1919 husk and transformed it into the beacon of the revolution. He had done away with the subversive bureaucratic devices and introduced a “dictatorship of the proletariat” to ensure that the CGT would only ever serve one purpose – to carry out the will of the people. Furthermore, the communal and anarchist economy was replaced with a highly industrialised and centralised machine, run by the CGT; maximising industrial output to mechanise production and electrify infrastructure. In hand, this streamlined and fed the Communard war machine, so it could eventually rage across Europe – destroying reactionary and capitalist forces. Similarly, in Britain, Grand Protector Oswald Mosley had rewired the economic and political functions of the nation to create a fortress of socialist principle and ideas. He had meshed the ideas of nationalism together with socialism in a successful attempt to unify the people of Britain and dedicate their being to the advancement of humanity. The Republican Navy and Republican Air Force was rivalled only by German ships, but paired with ‘La Flotte de la Commune’ – the waters would just be another means to spread the revolution. Italian comrades, though retaining their syndicalist and decentralised style of governance, supported the war of European liberation without question and sent their militias to advance past enemy lines. The first few months of war saw French victories over German armies, who were riddled with disorganisation and the occasional defection within the ranks to Communard forces. There were many syndicalist uprisings in towns speckled across the German border, seizing control and fortifying their cities; cutting off supplies to the Imperial Heer. The most notable of these seized cities early on was in Dunkerque, where German forces supposedly held a strong position and were safe from French assaults. This illusion was broken when the workers of the city rose up and fought against the German garrisons themselves; encircling entire divisions and allowing communard forces to swarm fortifications in the name of the revolution. This phenomenon occurred over and over again in small towns culminating in the anarchist uprising in Brussels. Armed syndicates and unions stormed barracks and government buildings until they captured King Adalbert I in his attempted escape – executing him for his crimes against the proletariat and the international worker. This infuriated the Kaiser in Berlin as he blamed the death of his son on the poor coordination and organisation of his own armed forces. The following month concluded with Wilhelm II’s seizing total authority over the German armed forces; his reorganisations and purges sacrificing both land and time to the Communards and ultimately allowing the Internationale’s frontlines to form from Flanders to Alsace-Lorraine. However, much to the Kaiser’s pleasure; Karl I of the USGA offered to join the Reichspakt in 1941 to attempt to halt the Red Menace in its rapid advance. As Danubian troops manned the frontlines of the western front, and fortifications were built along the Rhine in the event of German retreat. Things began to look better for the Kaiserreich. Though morale began to fall quickly for both German and French troops, for this was a memory known all too well from 22 years before. Though the Internationale was technologically superior with her weapons of war, the Combined Command Council understood that quality over quantity would mean Paris would fall for a third time as the trio of socialist nations were simply not equipped for a war of attrition. Several plans to solve this issue were created by Jacques Doriot, each to not only increase the manpower pool of the Internationale – but to encourage workers across the world to fight in this final battle against the reactionary forces. Envoys were sent across the planet, from Chile to Indochina, but the first real success was seen in Iberia. To say the Iberian Federation was in ruins after its nearly 2 year civil war would be an understatement, but the Central Committee of the C.N.T.-F.A.I. understood that it would have to play a role in this world revolution - or the blood, sweat and tears of tens of thousands would have been spent for nothing. The Federation allowed France and Britain to man Gibraltar and invade Portugal from its borders - with Iberia de facto entering the Third International and the Second Weltkrieg. International brigades and a steady stream of munitions and equipment were sent from Bharatiya, Mexico, Chile, and the CSA to bolster the Red Army against the German onslaught. While the Italian front was largely successful for the SRI in the Second Risorgimento, the Franco-German front was stalled. French, Spanish and Italian Commanders began to plan for a new offensive to push the Reichspakt to the Rhine. This was to much distaste in Britain - High Command as well as comrade Mosley could all agree that this would result in at least hundreds of thousands of dead allied troops, and at most, paving the way to another German occupation of France and another isolated Britain. In a desperate attempt to ensure a final victory for the Third Internationale, Mosley made a deal with the devil. On October 11th, 1943, The Russian State had declared war on the Reichspakt as a way of not only seeking revenge for their many crimes against native eastern populations; but to unify the Slavs in every sense of the word. Although Wilhelm II dismissed the Russian State’s threats as empty and easily put down, he would soon learn that the raw anger of the eastern nations against German meddling would result in pure, unadulterated chaos in the blistering winters of the Donbass and Baltic. In just a year, the Russian State was able to push back the Reichspakt forces to Minsk, also creating what is known today as the Courland Pocket - the largest encirclement in human history, which resulted in the complete destruction on Lithuania and the United Baltic Duchy. Mosley convened with Déat and Togliatti in an attempt for the Internationale to make official contact with the Russians, but both fervently resisted even the notion of contacting what would become the new hegemon of reactionary ideology – even if it was in their strategic interest. So, taking matters into their own Hands, the Maximist administration sent the Commissar for Foreign Affairs Cynthia Mosley to discuss a possible coordination of attacks to dismantle the Germanic oppressors of Europe. A secret deal was struck, known as the Mosley-Derental Pact, which also set out preliminary spheres of influence for the two blocs in a post-war Europe. Mosley saw the Vozhd’s character in himself; one of pride, honour and patriotism. This would be the deal that decided the fate of Europe. In 1944, the war in the east had claimed the lives of over 1 million Germans, as the loyalist troops were pushed back past the Dnieper, the Russian State began to rapidly build up its military and industry over and over. The Russian war machine raged against the Reichspakt forces and eventually reached the Romanian border where instead of bullets, the Russian troops were met with warm drinks and celebrations. Conducător Corneliu Zelea Codreanu had formalised the Treaty of Constanta, allying the Romanian National-Legionary State with Russia against the Reichspakt. The same month, the Courland pocket was officially closed with the massacre of Riga; the mass murder of Reichspakt forces trying to evacuate from the port of Riga. After this, the Eastern front dawned upon the Galician border as a joint offensive into the USGA was led by Field Marshal Ivan Konev and General Ion Antonescu. During this time, the Totalist factions in the new Commonwealth of America, conspired with the Grand Protector and planned to intervene in the war by forging joint plans by Canada and Mexico to besiege the fledgling new America. Previously, Jack Reed rejected the idea of American intervention in European war up to his death in 1941, and even the Central Committee voted to stay out of the war officially. However, the Central Committee did unanimously vote in favour of the policy of a new ‘Reed Doctrine’ – to support socialism in North America. In July of 1944, the Central Committee was presented with the invasion plans by the northern and southern neighbours, and a preemptive strike was approved by a majority. The two unsuspecting countries fell in four months, with the Zapatistas being restored in Mexico and Canada being annexed – with the totalists arguing that the difference between Americans and Canadians was just a capitalist fantasy. However, some real motives lied in the industry and resources of the neighbouring countries; most in the Central Committee believed that these new resources would be required for a full reconstruction of the Commonwealth of America. Due to this, the CoA would now reel for even longer due to the costs of such conflict and any Maximist dream for the Americans to enter the Second Weltkrieg was swiftly put down. In August of 1944, news of Mosley’s pact with Savinkov was leaked to General Lawrence, the commissioner of the R.E.D. The TUC, attempting to avoid any sort of reprisal or purge, took a neutral stance towards the Pact - but many union representatives from within economic and military structures urged the R.E.D. to take action against the ‘reactionary traitor’ who sat in Westminster. With word breaking out, protests against the pact were forming in London, Manchester and Glasgow; but most notably in Liverpool. As the peaceful protest quickly turned violent with the presence of armed police – the army began to consider these protests as a matter of national integrity and opened fire upon the crowd, killing 17. The shootings and following riots were censored by the Maximist government but had little effect as the news got to T.E. Lawrence; he led a combined force of ex-militiamen officially disbanded by Mosley in 1938, disgruntled soldiers, and R.E.D. agents and together they all stormed Mosley’s office and arrested the so-called Protector. Skirmishes between civilians, militiamen, agents and Mosley’s Revolutionary Guard lasted for a few more hours - but the demoralised force ultimately surrendered. The coup had been a success. The TUC, recognising the new administration, trusted General Lawrence with the chairmanship and Eric Blair to the Office of the General Secretary until new elections could be called. By September, Lawrence returned executive control to the TUC, which then elected Clement Attlee as chairman and Aneurin Bevan as General Secretary. Attlee quickly made Russia aware that Britain will never honour the provisions of the pact, however on the advice of High Command, Britain would act pragmatically towards Russia and not seek a new adversary in the conflict. A practice which Boris Savinkov reciprocated. By mid-1945, the Russian State’s forces had advanced onto German soil for the first time following the bombardment of Memel. Russian and Romanian joint command had advanced over the Galician and southern polish fronts. This was the beginning of the end for the Reichspakt, and many German politicians were seen packing their bags to travel to Südwestafrika. Meanwhile, the Internationale began to take interest in large military campaigns once again; sparked by the Guardia Rossa’s capitulation of the Two Sicilies and the Papal States. The R.E.D. created three new plans with the Combined Command Council; Operation Archangel, Operation Bank and Operation Liberté. The first, to support both Italian forces and Illyrian rebels led by Josip Broz Tito by parachuting special forces and supplies into northern Croatia and separately, munitions and weapons to nationalist rebels in Slovakia. Operation Bank would support the ongoing syndicalist uprisings in the Netherlands, not only by sending arms but also infiltrating the Dutch ports in the west. Finally, Operation Liberté would involve the use of the “Guerre Éclair” military strategy in the western front – combining both aerial strikes with rapid tank and artillery assaults on the front lines. All plans were launched with astounding success, with T.E. Lawrence and May Picqueray overseeing projects personally. The Netherlands fell to the Red Tide within just two weeks and the Austrians had officially lost control of Illyria by September. But this was just the beginning. As the British say, “now is the day and now is the hour”. It was time to stamp out the German eagle once and for all. First, the French and British navies coordinated to blockade the North Sea, starving the Kaiserreich of resources and food brought to it through the Atlantic. To do this, Arthur “Bomber” Harris was charged with the destruction of the port of Wilhelmshaven and any Reichsmarine assets which existed in the area. Shortly after the blockade had begun, the Bletchley Park research centre had managed to crack encoded transmissions used by the Reichsmarine - the hard work of comrade Alan Turing. This would hamper the Reichsmarine’s ability to make use of its submarines to bypass the International blockade. At the same time, the Institute for Particle Research in Manchester made use of this breakthrough to intercept German research regarding particle fission. Project Damocles could now begin. As surrounding forces plunged deeper into Reichspakt territory, the situation for the USGA stretched to breaking point. With the Romanian-Russian assault reaching the outskirts of Budapest, the integrity of the federation began to shatter. In a desperate attempt to spare any more blood, Admiral Miklos Horthy found himself as the last man in the chain of command. He officially surrendered Hungary, in defiance of the furious aristocrats in Vienna. Hungary was to become a republic, after its eastern lands were transferred to Romania. Soon after in 1946, Slovakia declared independence from the USGA for similar reasons but made no contact with either power bloc. As insurgent leader Štefan Osuský had hoped, both Russia and the International respected their neutrality to not tie up resources where they were not needed. Following the surrender of Hungary, it was not long before the International seized control of Vienna and Prague. The German Empire was once again isolated. The western front breached past the Rhine, and now was at the banks of the Elbe – Germany was now plunged into darkness, the fall of Königsberg had cemented the end. When the Internationale eventually took Berlin, Germany’s still loyal colonies descended into chaos. Mittelafrika shattered like glass, land grabs were led by loyalists, others led by native warlords. Many would fight, but one thing was certain – the death of Göring marked the collapse of the colony. Upon hearing of the fall of Berlin and the destruction of Brandenburg Gate, Göring’s castle was stormed by the insurgent natives and he was held captive. A few days after, he was discovered by the Schutztruppe to have his hands cut off and to be hung by his feet from a tree. The hanging corpse of the colonial overlord spelled death for the German colonial empire forever. Wilhelm II, who died from a heart attack during the war, was succeeded by Wilhelm III; who’s own naivety and arrogance only caused more discontent as more began to defect or flee. With the imperial throne destroyed and its emperor a disgrace, the German people had no man to look to for security. By mid-October, The Internationale franticly launched its motorised divisions to capture as much land as possible as the Russians began to pass over Warsaw. Western Danzig and Posen were seized in a nick of time, with medium resistance. There was never an official peace conference, leading to a tense peace where German borders were marked wherever forces met. The Earth was now home to two worlds; east and west, brother against brother – both growing and foaming at the mouth with anger at each other. None wanted war, but few wanted peace. And with the Damocles Project having come to fruition, and the Kremlin Project seeing promising results; the stakes for a new war had never been higher than ever before. In September 1947, the last major operation of the war begun, Operation Liberté Africaine (African Freedom). Where all the combined powers of the Third International were thrown as a display of power, calling up both of the combined fleets and and half the entire marine forces, into a naval invasion of North Africa to mop up the last of the warring reactionaries. As Communard forces beached with ease cutting through the exiles defensive like hot knife on butter, natives rose up in Tangiers, Oran and Algiers and fought the autocratic regime in the south. The Entente, technically at war with the Internationale since 1919, had been picking fights and scurrying away with what little carrion they could piece away from the spoils of the war in Europe. The communards were met with much resistance from the French loyalists, but native Algerians and Moroccans gladly housed and even aided the Communard liberators. By early 1948, Dakar fell and The Lion of Verdun was captured - his loyal officers scurrying away like rats. The Tuaregs took advantage of the vacuum and claimed land they believed was rightfully theirs for millennia, with their confederation of tribes spanning much of the Sahara. When the war in Europe had officially ended in 1946, Russia turned southwards. It took interest in the vast oil reserves of the Qajar Dynasty in Persia - which was subsequently invaded in 1947 and its ruler replaced with the leader of the Persian Cossack Brigade, General Reza Khan. In the East, accounts of the conflict aren’t clear. The squabbles in China and Japan never gained traction in international affairs until that fateful day in 1949. As Russia expanded its influence in Asia, it unleashed the fury of the gods upon the cities of Kyoto and Osaka as it began to lay siege on Manchuria. Kalinka and Lyudmila were the names of these new and terrifying bombs dropped on the two cities. They were the fruit of the Kremlin Project and the Children of the Vozhd. Japan quickly fell to its knees, with its emperor deposed and the far right Fumimaro Konoe installed as regent. March 13th was the day the Earth stood still. In the Pacific, the Australasian Confederation declared a cessation of hostilities and caved into pressure from the lower part of the military and the Australasia First Movement, which seized the apparatus of state soon after a coup. Edward, was detained and put under house arrest in Canberra. New Zealand have abandoned the Confederation, and Elizabeth I was crowned queen and abandoned all claims to the Windsor Crown as a last ditch efforts to preserve the British Legacy. The Second Weltkrieg had officially ended on the 21st of June 1948. Today known as P.V. (People’s Victory) Day among members of the International. But this was not the end. If there is one thing the peoples of the Saratov Pact and the Third International can agree on, it is that humanity must face one final struggle. Category:Lore Category:Needs Update